If the sameness of some mall-based home and décor stores has left you uninspired, then Cubao Expo is the perfect place to embrace your inner picker. You’re bound to find an unusual furniture piece, accessory, or collectible, as most of the items are secondhand.

But the best part about these Cubao X shops is that each store has its own personality, and after you’re done searching for that diamond in the rough, you can unwind at any of the bars and speakeasies next door.

Founder Eva Yu shares that: “Wala talaga kaming concept at first,” when the shop opened six years ago. The couple initially thought of selling their knick-knacks along with their daughter Christine’s handmade bags and artwork, but then their amazing collection of vintage pieces was more than enough.

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“We get them from collectors. It’s really tiempo tiempo. That’s why we named the store UVLA (Unique Vintage Lost Art); everything here is lost art, waiting for somebody to own them,” she shares. Amongst the hundreds of items and tchotchkes are unusual finds, such as old-fashioned tin and wooden toys, Pinoy komiks, watches, vintage signs and ads, and so much more.

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Don’t forget to head up to the Studio Soup library (above and below) on the second floor, which sells quite a number of local and international indie magazines, books, comics, and old-school printed materials.

Friends Jay Amante, an art dealer, and Robert Crespo, a former disc jock, share the same passion for music and vintage watches, and opened The Grey Market with Marc Yao in 2011 at Belitudo Lifestyle Strip along White Plains. “[But] the thing with audio kasi, it’s mostly for guys. Na-bo-bore ‘yung wives namin…sa amin,” says Robert with a laugh.

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The solution: make The Grey Market a gender-neutral ground by filling it with home décor, art, vintage jewelry, restored furniture, and even designer purses, which they also have in their latest branch in Cubao Expo. This way, everybody’s happy.

Cubao X won’t be Cubao X without the Grand Thrift House, which has been around from the beginning. Here, you really have to dig for treasure, and what finds they have: typewriters, old cigarette cases, mirrors, and jewelry boxes, Funny Komiks, sunglasses, bags, and even tiaras, and vintage photographs of everyone—from basketball stars and bomba actresses to random unidentified ancestors.

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Visit Grand Thrift House at Shop 12, Cubao Expo

A store with 7,000 gifts: My Breathing Space Collectibles And Gifts

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MBS (or My Breathing Space) seems like there is quite little breathing space as the store is literally packed with over 7,000 mostly new gift items, décor, and collectibles. Founder Gard V. Calub calls it “the most special gift store this part of the earth,” and we think he’s right.

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Up for grabs are hundreds of mugs, Coke collectibles, pop culture items that run the gamut from The Beatles to Marilyn Monroe, mini-figurines, and souvenir pieces from all over the world. Even the dried roses hanging from the ceiling are for sale!

Follow My Breathing Space Collectibles and Gifts on their Facebook page, or call them in mobile 0917-880-1347